Michael Mavor, 61, is retiring as headmaster of Loretto School, a position he has held since 2001.
Mr Mavor was born in Kuala Lipis, Malaysia, and moved to Scotland when he was three years old.
The family settled in Newington and Michael attended both Loretto Junior School and Loretto Senior School.
In 1965 he left Edinburgh and went to Cam
bridge University on a Trevelyan scholarship. He graduated in 1968 with a degree in English and began studying for his teaching qualification, again at Cambridge.
After completing this in 1969 he took up a teaching position at Northwestern University in Illinois.
Michael found working in the US to be a highly enjoyable experience and greatly appreciated the chance to experience life in a different culture after what he describes as his "fairly sheltered" upbringing.
After three years in the US, Michael returned to the UK to begin teaching at Tonbridge School in Kent.
In 1979 he took a step up and was appointed head at Gordonstoun School in Morayshire. His pupils here included both Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
He was credited with helping to improve the school's focus on academic studies. He also took part in a number of outdoor sports at the school, something that was new to him but he came to enjoy.
In 1990 he left Gordonstoun and became head of Rugby School. Perhaps his biggest achievement here was to turn it into a fully co-educational school in 1993, with the first female head of school following in 1995.
In 2001 he returned to his alma mater and took over as head at Loretto.
He faced similar challenges here to the ones he encountered at Gordonstoun two decades earlier, in attempting to re-emphasise the academic aspect of boarding school education.
Exam results at the school have improved considerably since he took over and there has been a significant refurbishment of the school's dining facilities.
He also made a significant contribution to the school's extra-curricular activities, in particular with the setting up of Loretto's Golf Academy.
The academy seeks to develop the abilities of young golfers by giving them daily golf tuition alongside their ordinary academic studies.
The school credits Michael's headship with the fact that Loretto now has its highest ever school roll.
Away from the classroom Michael served as chairman of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference in 1997, representing the interests of more than 270 independent schools.
He is also a keen sportsman, having played rugby and cricket at both school and university. Today he enjoys golf, fishing and archery.
He is married and has two children, both of whom live and work in London.
Michael is not retiring from teaching altogether – he will become a governor of Oundle School in Peterborough.
The full article contains 466 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
